The present invention relates to a fork lift attachment, and more particularly to a fold-away fork lift attachment for the bucket of a loader.
It has been recognized that it is desirable to utilize such earth moving equipment as front end loaders and bulldozers for different tasks than that for which they were designed, including, specifically, the lifting of loads, particularly pipe and loads supported on a pallet. To this end, various proposals have been made for the provision of fork lift tines on such front end loader buckets and bulldozer blades.
Coleman U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,023 provides such an attachment wherein the tines are clamped to the bottom plate of the loader bucket; these tines, while effective for performing their task, had to be disconnected and removed from the bucket whenever it was necessary to discontinue the use of the equipment as a lift truck, and to revert to the use of the equipment as a front end loader, thus requiring a substantial amount of time of the workman.
It is also been known to provide a structure such as that shown in Coleman U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,023, but with a pivotal connection of the tines to a supporting clamp strucuture; this construction avoided the disassembly of the tines from the bucket, but interfered with the operation of the bucket as a front end loader, and also subjected the tines to being encased in the dirt or other material being loaded, as well as having the disadvantage of taking up space in the bucket.
Other constructions in which a fork lift attachment was provided on the bucket of a front end loader include Guest U.S. Pat. No. 3,795,331, Cappella U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,633 and Carter U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,642; these constructions each required complete removal of the fork lift attachment from the bucket in order to utilize the bucket as a front end loader, and therefore required considerable time for the assembly and disassembly of the attachment.
Brock U.S. Pat. No. 2,473,505 provides a fork lift attachment for a bulldozer blade which is connected to the blade by a plurality of bolts, and therefore is not readily convertible from one use to the other.
Yates U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,610 discloses an earth working machine having a conventional bulldozer blade and in association with it a scoop, which may be rotated on a horizontal axis relative to the bulldozer blade; a fork lift attachment is provided on the bulldozer blade, being pivotally connected to it, in order to maintain the load level as it is lifted. Apparently, the fork lift attachment must be removed in order to convert the equipment to earth working functions.
Hobson U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,919 provides a lift truck, having the tines thereof pivotable on a horizontal axis; no earth working function is disclosed to be possible with this construction. Christiansen U.S. Pat. No. 2,635,884 discloses an attachment for a tractor which includes a container having an open front end and a plurality of tines pivotally mounted at the open end, the tines being movable between horizontal and vertical positions in order to assist in loading the container. Leigheber U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,979 discloses a boom pivotally connected to the interior of the bucket of a front end loader.